GNS-Convex-Review

Is the GNS Convex by L.T Wright Knives the ultimate bush craft knife? We spent two years of living with it to find out.

In the words of Auzzie film character Crocodile Dundee, “Now that’s a knife!” He could easily being talking about the GNS Convex from L.T. Wright Knives.

I actually don’t know how many knives Lisa and I now own between us. We use our knives daily for every manner of job, from prepping food to trimming back plastic on the bikes, to cutting cord and prepping fire wood. For us to keep a particular knife around, it has to be pretty tough.

There are more knives on the market today than ever before and it’s fair to say that many knife manufacturers are creating more and more seemingly high end, gadget based tactical styled knifes, which are then sold under a storm of cool acronyms and material abbreviations. Blinded by science it’s all too easy to crumple under the descriptive weight and make a snap purchase. But be warned, “all those shiny acronyms, does not gold make!”

The GNS Convex is not one of these knives and more importantly, L.T. Wright Knives are not one of those manufacturers.

A great knife at it’s core, should be dependable, utilize strong but simple design and simply work. No muss, no fuss, just work. All the cool acronyms in the world aren’t going to help cut, if the blade of your latest knife dulls or deforms easily.

The GNS Convex comes with a lifetime warranty. This is exceptional!

Spec:

Overall Length: 9" (22.86cm)

Sharpened Edge: 4.24" (10.79cm)

Steel: AEB-L high carbon stainless

Grind: Convex

Handle: Micarta with G10 Liners

We picked up our GNS Convex knifes a few years ago and after a ton of daily work, I’m getting around to writing this long overdue review.

The Right Tool For The Job

Having the right tools to hand makes outdoor living a lot easier and when you’re tired, stressed and uncomfortable, the knife in your hand can make all the difference.

The GNS Convex is a no-nonsense fixed blade knife. Designed as an all-purpose bush craft/outdoor knife.

Quality

Much like the L.T. Wright Knives Overland Machete, which we reviewed here, the first thing you feel when you handle the GNS Convex is a sense of quality. Handling the knife for the first time the handle, grip and blade feel utterly dependable.

The 4.5” (22.86cm) blade length is produced from AEB-L Stainless and comes in at 0.093” (2.3mm) and is finished with a spear point tip. We’ve been able to use the blade for weeks before any hint of the need for sharpening.

The Handle

In the hand, the knife feels secure. The handle is crafted from Canvas Micarta, which leaves a textured finish to aid grip. After several hours of wood splitting, the handle remained firmly planted in my hand and never left my hand feeling overly taxed or sore. The handles slabs are secured to the tang using fisheye bolts and two-ton epoxy, ready for all the abuse you can throw at it. The spine of the blade has also been sharpened square, to ensure a good spark when using a fire-steel.

The bond between blade and handle is perfect and there is no chance of mud or water penetrating the handle and loosing the bond.

The Sheath

The quality of the cowhide scabbard matches that of the knife, and the attention to detail is only matched by the simplicity of design. The perfectly molded and dyed colonial explorer brown form of the dark tan cowhide holds the GNS Convex securely. Whether being thrown around between uses, dangling from a belt or secured on one of our motorcycles and turned upside down after a fall, the knife has not become loose in over two years of use. Impressive.

Strength

We’re currently camped in North Carolina and over the last 6-days I’ve cut wood on a daily basis for the fire pit and we’ve spent months using the GNS Convex to prep food and meat stuffs. I initially had some concerns that the relatively thin blade would buckle under the diverse load, but it has performed flawlessly and needed very little in the way of maintenance or sharpening. The blade is still razor sharp and ready to go.

The Blade

Made from AEB-L Stainless, this steel has been hailed by many as the “Perfect Stainless for an outdoors knife with it’s unique combination of strength, edge retention, and ease of sharpening. After 2-years our GNS Convex shows no signs of oxidation or rusting.

Fire-Steel

Our GNS Convex was supplied with a quality fire-steel that slides into and is held in place by the knife sheath. My initial scepticism was replaced by assuredness after having to use the steel to light several fires in the rain. Used correctly the steel produces a long drop spark time after time, after time. We have even used it to ignite our MSR Dragonfly Stove.

Overview:

The L.T. Wright Knives, GNS Convex, is jack of all trades precision tool, camouflaged in a deceptively simplistic design.

You wont find any elongated acronyms or spring assisted wizardly here, but if you are looking for a down to earth, no nonsense, utterly dependable blade, the GNS Convex by L.T. Wright Knives is deserving of your attention. It’s an old school knife with a very modern future.

We’ll be carrying our GNS Convex for a very long time to come. This is the knife “done right!”